Monday, September 15, 2008

Monday Night Football comes to Texas


Lots more to come as we go thru the evening, but let's start with a one-word review of ESPN's version of MNF: Blech! The comparison to NBC's job with the argueably bigger Sunday night game is striking. NBC is nearly understated in comparison. ESPN is so loud and in your face, it's difficult to watch.

7:45 First Eagle drive is impressive so far. McNabb is finding open guys with ease as the Iggles march down the field. A big play by Ware to stop Westbrook in the backfield raises some hope, leading to a big third and three and one of the stranger incomplete passes you'll ever see. The Cowboys are lucky to only give up three on that one.

7:50 Nice return by Felix, wiped out by a holding penalty on Pat Watkins - hope this isn't a sign of things to come. They Cowboys have got to cut down on stupid penalities this week. Starting on the 14. Dammit!

7:54 Third and nine already. Great blocking and a nice catch by TO Owens moves the chains. Run blocking has been non-existent on the first two running plays.

7:56 HUGE TD pass to TO Owens. Beautiful pump fake by Romo springs Owens deep. I could have done without the chest bump w/ frickin' Rowdy, but the sprinter's duck going over the goal line was a good un. Liked the Eagle flap as well. 7-0 Cowboys. Nice, nice start.

8:03 Where is the Cowboy secondary? Everyone McNabb has thrown to has been WIDE open. And two more stupid penalties. Defensive offsides? What the heck is up with that?

8:08, 3:07 left in first quarter - finally a third down, nine to go. McNabb throws his first bad pass of the night and the Iggles have to settle for three. You have to like it - the Cowboy D looked like a sieve for most of that drive.

2:45 PLEASE NO FLAGS! What a frickin' run back by F. Jones. No one touched him! 14-6. YEAH!

2:30 Zach Thomas is everywhere on defense.

1:00 HUGE pass defense by Mike Jenkins. I thought that was six. Forces the punt.

:05 Yet ANOTHER huge play. I was all psyched that Romo somehow avoided the sack, then he throws a terrible pass and gets picked off. And now Henry gets totally JOBBED on that interference call - Greg Lewis grabbed his shirt and pulled him into the contact. It's hard to get too pissed, as the Cowboys have gotten away with two pretty blatant facemasks, but this one puts Philadelphia on the one to start the second quarter.

I'm only typing after big plays, but a quarter in and this game has been FULL of big plays. Yee-hah!

14:55 of the second: What was the O/U on this game? I WISH I had the over. 14-13. This is gonna be a shootout!

14:47 Oh crap. Jones muffs the kickoff and the Cowboys start on the 4. And then Curtis jumps offsides. PENALTIES!

14:41 WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? Romo just drops the ball, can't pick it up, then fumbles again, and it's a Eagle TD. Talk about a momentum swing!! What a brain-dead play by Romo!

14:32 How many big plays can one game have? Now Felix Jones runs the kickoff back 50 the 44. I'm exhausted and we're 30 seconds into the second quarter!

10:02 NICE drive. Exactly what the Cowboys needed. 21-20. Boy, this may be the first one to 100.

7:46 This is the single craziest football game I have EVER seen. DeSean Jackson didn't take the ball into the end zone, but the Cowboys didn't pick it up, so the Eagles get it at the two. I have never seen anything like this in my life. I didn't matter, but it's SHOCKING. 27-21 Eagles.

2:00 More stupid penalities keep the Eagles' drive in business. This is a real issue, but not the biggest problem tonight. The Cowboy defense appears incapable of stopping the Eagles.

Halftime: Holy smokes! The offense looks as good as they ever have, but can this defense stop anything? It sure doesn't look like it so far. The front has got some pressure on McNabb, but so many Cowboys have bounced off him it looks like a 5th grade science fair project on reverse magnetism. I hope Wade is wearing some asses out on on defnse right now. They deserve it.

12:45 After a lackluster series, the Cowboys punt. Let's see if the defense can stop anything. They've got the Eagles on the 16 after a good punt by McBriar.

11:50 They hold, but it took a DeSean Jackson drop and a few missed tackles on Westbrook. A MONSTER punt by the Eagle punter and the Cowboys start around the 20. They need a drive here.

5:08 And a drive is what they produce. HUGE run by Barber (and a near-decking of #22) was the big play, and Romo finishes it off with a beaut to Barber on third and 4. THAT was vintage Cowboys. 31-30 Cowboys. Now they need a defensive stop.

End of 3rd The Cowboy defense STILL can't get McNabb on the ground. And they still can't stop the Eagle offense. Is Pat Watkins an upgrade over Roy Williams? That facemask was stupid, but necessary because he got Williamsed (burnt) so badly.

14:17 in the 4th And they can't tackle Westbrook either. How does a 200 lb guy push over from a yard out without jumping? 37-31 Eagles. Last one with the ball wins.

8:52 McNabb has struggled with handoffs and if finally produces a break for the Cowboys. A fumble recovery gets them started around the 30. This is a big opportunity.

4:35 And they cash in. Cowboys 41-37. Time for the defense to nut up. A stop here and the game is won.

3:23 YES! A stop! Another penalty on the punt, but the Cowboys can run this out. If I'm Wade, I don't want to have to rely on this defense for another start.

1:58 Well so much for that. Yet ANOTHER stupid stupid penalty on Ratliff is going to cost the Cowboys the game. That's 10 penalties in this game. Why this team can't stop making idiot mistakes is just beyond me.

1:23 The front is finally getting some pressure on McNabb. The secondary is doing yeoman's work, keeping the recievers covered up for 10 seconds. 4th down.

1:03 YES! That has to be the ball game, right? How many timeouts does Philadelphia have?

Best regular season game in NFL history? It's the best one I can ever remember seeing. I don't know what was better.

The Cowboys still have to work on those penalties, though.

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